That’s the headline for this LA Times op-ed by Jacob Heilbrunn. I’ve never suspected that ‘Big Oil’ was causing our problems but it was a nice shot in the arm to see that headline in the LA Times. The downside is that Heilbrunn still advocates using less energy instead of producing more:

The recent past suggests that, in fact, efforts to influence the supply of energy can actually boomerang, driving up prices and consumption. Rather than demonize Big Oil, lawmakers should focus on tamping down demand.

Had Mr. Heilbrunn taken an all of the above approach, I might’ve praised him. Instead, he took the liberal ‘we must do more with less’ approach. He had the chance to ignore the global warming myth but he didn’t. Too bad. To be fair, though, he makes some worthwhile points. Here’s one of those points:

Consider Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Reid has been lambasting “oil barons” as though we were back in the bad old days of John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil cornering the market. He is touting a Consumer-First Energy Act that would, among other things, punish oil producers with a complicated 25% windfall profits tax and create a government program to reinvest that money in renewable energy, perhaps with some of the same companies. That’s too much government, too little common sense.

Anytime the government strongarms the ‘free’ market into doing something, the result is predictably disastrous. Likewise, anytime Harry Reid has a solution to a problem, rest assured of the fact that it’ll make matters worse. Sen. Reid doesn’t have the qualifications to Senate Majority Leader, though his experiences with land transactions and zoning laws make him eminently qualified for a city council position.

Final Verdict: “too much government, too little common sense.”

Here’s something else that Mr. Heilbrunn gets right:

A worthier bill is the proposed Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008, which would extend tax breaks for alternative energy producers. It incentivizes innovation without the government deciding what is and isn’t innovative.

Rep. Michele Bachmann spoke to this at last Saturday’s Listening Week Wrap-up. The good news is that there’s substantial support for extending the tax credits. The bad news is that Ms. Pelosi’s Do-Nothing Congress doesn’t even have debate scheduled for the legislation.

As usual, the American people are speeding their way past the government in finding solutions. Here’s a perfect example:

“With the Volt,” he writes, “GM, battered, beleaguered, struggling for profitability, hopes to re-engineer not just the car but the way the public thinks about cars, the way the public thinks about GM, and the way GM thinks about itself.”

Here’s another perfect example of American consumers taking matters into their own hands:

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced that for six straight months, Americans have driven fewer miles compared with last year.

While all of this helps, it’s still important to increase oil exploration and production. That will cut the legs right out from under tyrants like Hugo Chavez and Ahmadinejad.

It doesn’t get any better than that.

Technorati Tags: LA Times, Gas Crisis, Oil Exploration, Oil Production, Windfall Profits Tax, Harry Reid, Price Controls, Tax Credits, Michele Bachmann

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

1. “…anytime Harry Reid has a solution to a problem, rest assured…” that he or one or more of his cronies or support lobbyist groups will be making big bucks

   Comment by Carlos — June 25, 2008 @ 3:08 pm